In late 1863, Connecticut created its first all-Black Civil War regiment. The 29th Regiment was launched almost 10 months after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and months after Massachusetts and Rhode Island created their own African American regiments.
Despite Connecticut’s late start relative to some of its northern neighbors, Blacks rushed to enlist in the 29th Regiment. In fact, so many men wished to join the cause, that a second regiment, the 30th, was established to accommodate the surplus of volunteers. Even with their willingness to serve a country that had brought upon them so much trauma, African Americans were still looked down upon. Connecticut Democrats feared allowing Blacks to fight in the war, for “it would let loose upon the helpless South ‘a horde of African barbarians.’” It was decided that white officers would lead the Black regiments, ensuring law and order.
The 29th and 30th Regiment troops got a morale boost on January 29, 1864 with a speech from renowned Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass. In his address, Douglass reminded the soldiers they were fighting for the freedom of four million Blacks still enslaved in the South. With Douglass’ words ringing in their ears, the 29th Regiment went on to fight in many of the war’s most important battles. In September 1864, they helped capture Fort Harrison, less than 10 miles from the Confederate capital in Richmond. In late October of the same year, the men of the regiment held back the Confederacy at the Battle of Kell House. The regiment participated in the very last offensive attacks of the war, overtaking Richmond. In April 1865, the regiment was among the first to march on the former Confederate capital.
In 2008, Connecticut’s first monument honoring Black soldiers was erected in New Haven, commemorating the men of the 29th Regiment.
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